City Departments

Olive and Obiwan, the otters of the WNC Nature Center, are getting a home renovation that will expand their habitat by 50 percent. Construction on the center’s most popular exhibit is expected to be completed in January, and will make it more accommodating to the otters’ needs as well as more interactive for WNC Nature …

In the world of communications, diversity means increased reliability. The city of Asheville uses a number of telecommunication tools to ensure public safety communications are in line with making Asheville the safest city in America when compared to cities of similar size. Information about the city’s public safety delivery systems is highly sensitive due to …

Twenty fire engines from departments throughout Buncombe County – including four trucks from the Asheville Fire Department – have been outfitted with equipment that drastically cuts back on their emissions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. The upgrades, announced November 19 at Fire Station One in downtown Asheville, come thanks to a $31,500 North …

City of Asheville employees attending two Nov. 17 workshops got hands-on lessons in increasing energy efficiency and saving money through finding and sealing attic and basement gaps and leaks in their homes. Around 70 city employees attended the workshops hosted by the City of Asheville’s Office of Sustainability and conducted in partnership with the city’s …

Beginning Nov. 19, the City of Asheville will begin enforcing a change in parking meter policy that says customers displaying handicapped parking placards or license tags will be required to pay parking meters. Leading up to that change, the city’s Parking Services began issuing warning tickets on Friday and distributing educational leaflets to cars displaying …

November 14 – 20 is National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, and the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Initiative is utilizing the event to push its newly-developed social media effort into the community. Homeless Initiative Coordinator Amy Sawyer says the social media component is intended to strengthen the information network built by the Asheville Buncombe Homeless Coalition and …

When your job can involve any dangerous scenario from burning buildings to high-rise rescues, you never stop preparing, says Asheville Fire Department Division Chief of Safety and Training Barry Hendren. “We’re always ready to do training for the unexpected,” says Hendren. “It just helps us be better prepared for what comes our way.” In recent …

In an organization of more than 1,000 people, speedy and accurate information flow means not only increased efficiency but also real dollars. That’s an underlying theme that emerges when City of Asheville employees talk about the recently launched technology upgrade that provides not only swifter access to data but also easier communication between city departments …

Basketball and tennis courts in City of Asheville parks are getting a new look, alongside much-needed maintenance that will help preserve them for future play. Already, tennis courts at Weaver, Montford and Malvern Hills parks have been resurfaced and painted in the same blue and green seen on U.S. Open courts and treated with an …